Leicester

20 'simple acts'!

Simple Acts: inspiring individuals to use small, everyday actions to change perceptions of refugees.

Made up of 20 actions that can be done by anyone and that encourage us to learn and do more with refugees.

With every person who joins in on the idea and does a small thing with and for refugees, we get a little closer to removing barriers between communities and to creating the kind of world we all want to live in.

Visit the Refugee Week website for more ideas for Simple Acts.

1: Cook a dish from another country

- need some help? We are organising ‘cook and eat’ get-togethers where small groups of 4-5 people, made up of asylum seekers and non asylum seekers, cook together and then eat together, while learning and chatting together and getting to know each other – get in touch to get involved!

2: Tell a child a story from another country

You may not think you know any stories about refugees but I am sure you have heard of Paddington Bear and how he arrived with just a suitcase. Well Michael Bond has written a tale as part of the Simple Acts campaign, where Paddington bear tells of his arrival in Britain and how a sticky paw can make the UK more welcoming for other refugees.

Read Paddington Bears story here: http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts/paddington.htm

Childrens stories are a great way of changing childs fear of the unknown into a sense of wonder and adventure and helping to not just celebrate the differences but realise that children all over the world have similar experiences too.

At the bottom of the page are some some childrens stories from the Refugee Week website that you can download.

3: Watch a movie about refugees

- can’t think of one? Come and join us at our free Quiz and Movie Night: Thursday 17th June 2010, from 6pm to 9pm, at the Attenborough Film Theatre, University of Leicester – film: Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret, in French, Kurdish and English with subtitles, flyer attached!

4: Do a quiz on refugees

Quizs are a great ice breaker and way of sharing and absorbing snippets of information and most importantly they are fun!

Do come to our Film and quiz night mentioned above or hold a quiz for family and freinds or as a theme night for a club. It’s fun looking up facts and making your own quiz but we have included one that you can download at the bottom of the page.

5: Say a little prayer for me

The idea behind this is not so much about prayer as our thoughts. If we all imagine how it is to be a refugee and try to walk in their shoes, imagining how they must feel and what they must be going through then our attitude towards being a refugee will change. If our attitudes change even a little then we will in turn hopefully affect the people that we come into contact with and so it goes on.

We can’t do much individually but think about how small a rain drop is and yet it’s from a lot of small raindrops that we get not just puddles but floods. Lets see if we can create a sea of change in the perception of refugees!

6: Read a book about exile

You may remember a few years ago when Khaled Hosseini’s book The Kite Runner was made into a book. If you haven’t read it then this might be a great first read. And if you have read The Kite Runner then why not try one of the many books about the refugee experience on our list which you can download below.

- and then tell us what you think! We are going to be listing a selection of books, with book reviews written by you!

The Other Hand – read and reviewed by Elizabeth:

The Other Hand tells the story of two women, Little Bee and Sarah, who meet for the first time when Sarah and her husband Andrew are on holiday. Their initial encounter is on a beach in Nigeria, when Little Bee and her sister and being hotly pursued by soldiers who are intent on killing them. For Little Bee, her sister, Sarah and Andrew, this encounter is life changing.

You can download the full review below, and if you would like to submit your own review then get in touch!

7: Sign off your email with a note about refugees

Why not find add an interesting fact about refugees to the end of your emails?

For example:

Ps. Did you know Einstein was a refugee?

Or how about one of the following

Btw, did you know that the Mini was designed by a refugee?

Refugees Rock! Find out how – visit www.refugeeweek.org.uk

Go on…do it!Did you know that Michael Marks from Marks & Spencer’s was a refugee?

Fish and Chips was brought to the UK by refugees!

8: Find five facts about refugees

Why not impress your freinds and family with some interesting facts about refugees? Here are some from the Refugee Week website but I am sure you can find many more!

A refugee is someone who has fled to another country seeking protection from war or persecution. An economic migrant is someone who has moved to another country to work.

Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention people have the right to apply for protection in the UK.

11 refugees from the UK have won Nobel Prize for science

Asylum seekers account for only 3% of net immigration to the UK.

Almost a third of refugees have contributed to society by doing voluntary work since arriving in the UK.

Many refugees have academic or teaching qualifications. There are more than 1,500 refugee teachers in England.

The UK hosts 2% of the world’s 10 million refugees.

Hark at you brain box.More than 1,100 medically qualified refugees are recorded on the British Medical Association’s database. It only costs £10,000 to prepare a refugee doctor to practise in the UK. It costs £250,000 to train a doctor from scratch.

Estimates of the UK’s refugee population suggest that it only amounts to 0.6% of the total UK population.

Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention people have the right to apply for protection in the UK.

A refugee is someone who has fled to another country seeking protection from war or persecution. An economic migrant is someone who has moved to another country to work.

And one for Leicester!

In Leicester alone, over 30 000 jobs have been created by Ugandan Asian refugees since the 1970s

9: Find out who you really are

Did you know that at one point the UK was covered in ice and that it used to be joined by land to Europe? So everyone has ancestors that at some time travelled here and settled. Some would have been fleeing from other countries and others just looking for somewhere new to live. And even within countries people have had to flee from city to city. But just to add to the confusion borders are often changing so for instance there sections of France that were once thought of English and Germany was separated into two for a while so tracing your ancestry can be really interesting.

Do you know who your ancestors are? Many English are decendents of Huguenots from France or Vikings from Scandinavia and much of our aristocracy are decended from France or Germany. But we have always had a rich variety of travels to our shores and many of them fleeing out of necessity. Below you can download one persons story of her ancestory and some common origins of names.

10: Visit a Refugee Week event

- or organise your own! Refugee ‘Week’ activities are happening throughout the month of June this year – download the Refugee Week 2010 flyer for details of many of the events, and also click on the ‘events’ tab for details of events which didn’t make it into the flyer!

11: Smile :0)

- do I need to say more!

12: Learn to say a few things in another language

Have you ever wished you could say speak another language? Well it’s never too late to learn and there are lots of really good ways to learn. You could go to a local course or pop into the library to see what CDs or books they have that could help. Or even better if you have an opportunity to talk to someone who speaks another language as their first language I am sure they would love to teach you a few words!

Why not start with a simple word or phrase like ‘Hello’ or ‘Good Morning’ and then try a new word every week. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can start to learn and how happy people will be when you surprise them by trying to speak a few words of their language! Go on don’t be shy. Have fun!

After all if english is not their first language they will have had to learn a second language and start to speak it too.

13: Have tea with a refugee

- and a scone with clotted cream! Open Hands Trust are holding a Tea Party on Tuesday 15th June 2010, from 1.15pm to 3pm, with jewellery making, table football and other activities, flyer attached!

14: Share a song

Have you thought of listening to some world music on the radio or on the internet? There are lots of amazing musicians out there that we don’t get to hear much in the UK just because we don’t understand the language they speak.

Alternatively you could go along to an event such of one of the Red Leicester Choir performances or even join them and sing along! http://redleicesterchoir.com

You could also look out for visiting musicians to local venues or listen to local international musician at the farside open mike session at the YMCA www.farside2.org.uk. Or if you are looking out for a festival to go to then why not try the Womad festival of world music http://womad.org/

15: Join a big action campaign in support of refugees

Here are a few of the many campaigns you can get involved in. Or alternatively why not join Leicester City of Sanctuary as a volunteer!

Refugee Action Destitution campaign
h3. Refugee Action are calling for the government to give protection to those who cannot return home; and advice and support to all those who are refused asylum, to make the best decision for their future.
h3. To find out more and to get involved, see www.refugee-action.org.uk

Red Cross Refugee Unit
In true spirit of the Simple Acts drive, the British Red Cross encourages you to lend a helping hand as a refugee services volunteer.
For more on their refugee services simply go to www.redcross.org.uk/refugee

Sign the Let Them Work pledge
Together with a number of partner organisations, the Refugee Council is calling on the government to let asylum seekers work. You can help, by signing our pledge, lobbying your MP or simply spreading the word to your friends.

www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/letthemwork
OutCry!
Every year around 2,000 children in the UK are detained for the purposes of immigration control. Detention can have a devastating impact on children who have little understanding of what they have done to deserve being locked up. If you think detaining children is unacceptable please add your voice to the campaign by signing up at www.biduk.org or www.outcrycampaign.org.uk

16: Share your sweets

17: Give a book about refugees as a present to someone

Books are great to give (and of course recieve) as a gift so why not give one of the books mentioned in ‘Simple Act 17’ to a freind or relative. A great way to share the experience of reading a really interesting book!

You could even read one of the books from our list and then pass it on suggesting that once it’s read it gets passed on again. Think of the journey one book could make and the lives it could touch!

18: Define the word refuge

- what does the word refuge mean to you? Complete the attached ‘entry form’ and enter our **‘My Refuge‘ competition** anytime during June 2010, using any medium you choose: a poem, a photograph, a film clip, a drawing, in writing, an audio clip, a painting ….. – below is an example from the Refugee Week Simple Acts website, visit the site for many more ideas:

A refuge is not where I’m from or where I want to be, but it’s where I can go to to get back to being who I want.

19: Take a picture of you and your pro-refugee banner

20: Play football with refugees

- do you understand the offside rule? Every year there is an International Football Tournament as part of our Refugee Week celebrations, and teams from ‘near and far’ are welcome to enter!

This year the tournament is on Saturday 5th June – full details under the ‘events’ tab, get in touch if you are interested in getting involved in 2011.

Attachment	Size
Refugee Week 2010 flyer	298.08 KB
Book review - The Other Hand	30 KB
'My Refuge' competition poster	184.5 KB
'My Refuge' competition entry form	33.5 KB
Movie Night - Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret	236.5 KB
Tea Party at Open Hands	945.08 KB
All_For_a_Pansa_-_India.pdf	22.09 KB
Ahmed_Al-Tenbel_-_Ahmed_the_idle_one_-_Iraq.pdf	28.49 KB
Great_Hunter_-_Iran.pdf	21.72 KB
Lazy_Lazy_Hare_-_Nigeria.pdf	25.02 KB
The_Silver_on_the_Hearth_-_Afghanistan.pdf	20.86 KB
The_Wicked_Girl_-_Turkey.pdf	28.02 KB
Why_Crocodile_Has_a_Rough_Back_-_Angola.pdf	21.16 KB
Refugee_Quiz_-_with_answers_-_Feb_2010.doc	84.5 KB
What_does_your_name_say_about_you.doc	21.5 KB
Books_-_Refugee_experience.doc	39.5 KB

Groups:

Leicester

City of Sanctuary is supported by:
The Co-Operative Esmee Fairbairn Foundation The Allen Lane Foundation Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

Website designed and supported by Seedling Media.

Leicester

20 'simple acts'!

Simple Acts: inspiring individuals to use small, everyday actions to change perceptions of refugees.

1: Cook a dish from another country

2: Tell a child a story from another country

Read Paddington Bears story here: http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts/paddington.htm

Childrens stories are a great way of changing childs fear of the unknown into a sense of wonder and adventure and helping to not just celebrate the differences but realise that children all over the world have similar experiences too.

At the bottom of the page are some some childrens stories from the Refugee Week website that you can download.

3: Watch a movie about refugees

- can’t think of one? Come and join us at our free Quiz and Movie Night: Thursday 17th June 2010, from 6pm to 9pm, at the Attenborough Film Theatre, University of Leicester – film: Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret, in French, Kurdish and English with subtitles, flyer attached!

4: Do a quiz on refugees

Quizs are a great ice breaker and way of sharing and absorbing snippets of information and most importantly they are fun!

Do come to our Film and quiz night mentioned above or hold a quiz for family and freinds or as a theme night for a club. It’s fun looking up facts and making your own quiz but we have included one that you can download at the bottom of the page.

5: Say a little prayer for me

We can’t do much individually but think about how small a rain drop is and yet it’s from a lot of small raindrops that we get not just puddles but floods. Lets see if we can create a sea of change in the perception of refugees!

6: Read a book about exile

- and then tell us what you think! We are going to be listing a selection of books, with book reviews written by you!

The Other Hand – read and reviewed by Elizabeth:

You can download the full review below, and if you would like to submit your own review then get in touch!

7: Sign off your email with a note about refugees

Why not find add an interesting fact about refugees to the end of your emails?

For example:

Ps. Did you know Einstein was a refugee?

Or how about one of the following

Btw, did you know that the Mini was designed by a refugee?

Refugees Rock! Find out how – visit www.refugeeweek.org.uk

Go on…do it!Did you know that Michael Marks from Marks & Spencer’s was a refugee?

Fish and Chips was brought to the UK by refugees!

8: Find five facts about refugees

Why not impress your freinds and family with some interesting facts about refugees? Here are some from the Refugee Week website but I am sure you can find many more!

A refugee is someone who has fled to another country seeking protection from war or persecution. An economic migrant is someone who has moved to another country to work.

Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention people have the right to apply for protection in the UK.

11 refugees from the UK have won Nobel Prize for science

Asylum seekers account for only 3% of net immigration to the UK.

Almost a third of refugees have contributed to society by doing voluntary work since arriving in the UK.

Many refugees have academic or teaching qualifications. There are more than 1,500 refugee teachers in England.

The UK hosts 2% of the world’s 10 million refugees.

Hark at you brain box.More than 1,100 medically qualified refugees are recorded on the British Medical Association’s database. It only costs £10,000 to prepare a refugee doctor to practise in the UK. It costs £250,000 to train a doctor from scratch.

Estimates of the UK’s refugee population suggest that it only amounts to 0.6% of the total UK population.

Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention people have the right to apply for protection in the UK.

A refugee is someone who has fled to another country seeking protection from war or persecution. An economic migrant is someone who has moved to another country to work.

And one for Leicester!

In Leicester alone, over 30 000 jobs have been created by Ugandan Asian refugees since the 1970s

9: Find out who you really are

10: Visit a Refugee Week event

- or organise your own! Refugee ‘Week’ activities are happening throughout the month of June this year – download the Refugee Week 2010 flyer for details of many of the events, and also click on the ‘events’ tab for details of events which didn’t make it into the flyer!

11: Smile :0)

- do I need to say more!

12: Learn to say a few things in another language

After all if english is not their first language they will have had to learn a second language and start to speak it too.

13: Have tea with a refugee

- and a scone with clotted cream! Open Hands Trust are holding a Tea Party on Tuesday 15th June 2010, from 1.15pm to 3pm, with jewellery making, table football and other activities, flyer attached!

14: Share a song

Have you thought of listening to some world music on the radio or on the internet? There are lots of amazing musicians out there that we don’t get to hear much in the UK just because we don’t understand the language they speak.

Alternatively you could go along to an event such of one of the Red Leicester Choir performances or even join them and sing along! http://redleicesterchoir.com

You could also look out for visiting musicians to local venues or listen to local international musician at the farside open mike session at the YMCA www.farside2.org.uk. Or if you are looking out for a festival to go to then why not try the Womad festival of world music http://womad.org/

15: Join a big action campaign in support of refugees

Here are a few of the many campaigns you can get involved in. Or alternatively why not join Leicester City of Sanctuary as a volunteer!

Red Cross Refugee Unit In true spirit of the Simple Acts drive, the British Red Cross encourages you to lend a helping hand as a refugee services volunteer. For more on their refugee services simply go to www.redcross.org.uk/refugee

Sign the Let Them Work pledge Together with a number of partner organisations, the Refugee Council is calling on the government to let asylum seekers work. You can help, by signing our pledge, lobbying your MP or simply spreading the word to your friends.

16: Share your sweets

17: Give a book about refugees as a present to someone

Books are great to give (and of course recieve) as a gift so why not give one of the books mentioned in ‘Simple Act 17’ to a freind or relative. A great way to share the experience of reading a really interesting book!

You could even read one of the books from our list and then pass it on suggesting that once it’s read it gets passed on again. Think of the journey one book could make and the lives it could touch!

18: Define the word refuge

19: Take a picture of you and your pro-refugee banner

20: Play football with refugees

- do you understand the offside rule? Every year there is an International Football Tournament as part of our Refugee Week celebrations, and teams from ‘near and far’ are welcome to enter!

This year the tournament is on Saturday 5th June – full details under the ‘events’ tab, get in touch if you are interested in getting involved in 2011.

Red Cross Refugee Unit
In true spirit of the Simple Acts drive, the British Red Cross encourages you to lend a helping hand as a refugee services volunteer.
For more on their refugee services simply go to www.redcross.org.uk/refugee

Sign the Let Them Work pledge
Together with a number of partner organisations, the Refugee Council is calling on the government to let asylum seekers work. You can help, by signing our pledge, lobbying your MP or simply spreading the word to your friends.